This invention relates to corn snapping headers of the type used for removing ears from standing corn stalks and, more particularly, to a header primarily intended for use in conjunction with a forage harvester, incorporating a novel frame permitting the use of combine corn snapping units while providing swingable row adjustability.
Previous snapping headers for forage harvesters are essentially a two row version of a combine corn header and have included a pair of laterally adjustable corn snapping units mounted on a transverse beam as shown on a combine header in Schreiner et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,589,110. In these snapping units, the crop passage defined by the snapping plates is disposed parallel to the path of travel so that the planted stalk moves rearwardly in the passage. The corn ears are snapped off in the passages and move rearwardly into a cross auger trough and then laterally by the cross auger to the center outlet of the header.
In the referenced copending application, Ser. No. 064,146, there is claimed a corn snapping header wherein the crop passages of the snapping units are disposed at an angle to the path of travel thereby eliminating the cross auger structure. However, it is also desirable for the structure to be capable of having the rows swingingly adjustable in a manner similar to that used in a row crop harvesting unit, as shown for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,396 to Fritz et al. while at the same time using the normally laterally adjustable combine snapping units.